ARTHUR: THE ONCE AND ETERNAL KING

Stories of King Arthur have enthralled popular audiences for more than a thousand years.

Scholars have been fascinated, too, not only in tracking clues that could confirm Arthur's historical existence but also in scrutinizing literature for insights into what the evolving stories reveal through the ages.

That fascination was well evidenced by the world's top Arthurian scholars who spent an October weekend on campus attending Camelot 2000, an international conference exploring the state of Arthurian studies and looking into the future of research into legends relating to the mythic king.

In panels and plenary talks, conferees discussed medieval and contemporary literature, art, films, and other topics ranging from "King Arthur and Black American Popular Culture" and "Who Owned King Arthur's Knights?: World War I Posters and the Question of National Identity" to "Arthurian Cartoons" and "Merlin in the 21st Century."

The range of characters and themes in Camelot legends provides "a gold mine for anyone," says conference organizer Alan Lupack, who is director of the Robbins Library at the University and also serves as president of the North American Branch of the International Arthurian Society.

There are probably few people in the Western world who have not heard of King Arthur and his ideals of knightly fellowship, he notes.

Although there are no historical references to a King Arthur as we know him today, the mentions that are made of an Arthur-like figure have long kindled the imagination of storytellers and inspired heroic tales.

Continuing to this day, Arthur has saturated our popular culture. Countless books and films directly relate his story or reflect the ideals of Camelot in contemporary settings. Writers have devised their own interpretations of the legends or retold the story from the differing perspectives of the various characters.

In daily American life, Arthurian names abound in streets, housing developments, and Las Vegas hotels, and in products ranging from flour to steel to telephone systems to a beer named "Grail Ale" produced by the Middle Ages Brewing Company.

During the late 19th century, Arthur and his knights were fashioned into moral role models for American youth through the creation of boys' clubs called the "Knights of King Arthur." Girls' groups-the "Queens of Avalon"-sprang up as well.

Arthurian lore also made its way into lowbrow 20th-century entertainment with the animated cartoon Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court and the reincarnation of Arthur in the sci-fi comic book Camelot 3000.

The stories continue to fascinate people, Lupack concludes, because "Arthur offers ideals and honor-things people are looking for in every age." And along with this, he points out, the legends reflect real life, with the quest for a perfect world undermined by basic human failings.

For more on Arthur, visit the University's comprehensive Camelot Project Web site at www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/ cphome.stm - offering a database of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information.

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